


this charming man

by pryvate



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (just 3 years), 5+1 Things, Age Difference, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Established Relationship, M/M, Minor Violence, Second-Hand Embarrassment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-20 01:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20219509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pryvate/pseuds/pryvate
Summary: Jeno didn’t think he would be saving himself from embarrassment far more than from the people that were actually out to get him.(Alternatively: Five times Jeno’s mobster boyfriend Jaemin was more embarrassing than terrifying.)





	this charming man

**Author's Note:**

> [this charming man by the smiths](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJRP3LRcUFg)  
  
happy birthday jaemin  
♡

**1.**

Jeno’s starting to regret accepting Jaemin’s offer to pick him up from university.

He’d usually decline, telling Jaemin walking would do him good, but right now, he couldn’t really care less. Once his professor ended his unnecessarily long slideshow presentation and told them they could leave, Jeno was already slumping down to press his face against his desk, grumbling against the wood.

He’s beat. Jeno just wanted to get out of there, bury himself into his mountain of pillows and never wake up. But of course, life never seems to go its way for Jeno. The first thing he’s greeted with as he steps outside the halls is an obnoxiously loud crowd gathering around some sort of expensive car. 

Jaemin’s expensive car.

With an even more disgustingly expensive looking Jaemin leaning against it, looking down at his phone, seemingly bored.

“God,” Jeno groans. He forgets just who his boyfriend is sometimes.

Jeno power walks through the crowd, _Excuse me_’s flying out his mouth as he squeezes past everyone until he finds himself in front of Jaemin. When his boyfriend looks up, Jeno greets him with a glare, and yet it does nothing to dim the blinding hundred watt smile that’s spreading on Jaemin’s face when he sees him.

“Baby—”

“Discrete, I said be discrete!” Jeno hisses. His ears warm as a chorus of screams erupt when Jaemin moves to engulf the blushing boy into his arms. Jeno clutches a fist into Jaemin’s once iron-pressed, crisp dress shirt, wanting nothing more than the Earth to swallow him whole right now, but he also wants to savor the feeling of Jaemin’s solid chest against him like this, having missed it all throughout finals week. 

He’s losing it, Jeno thinks. He really needs to lie down.

Jaemin just squeezes at his hips in meek apology, nuzzling his chin against the crown of Jeno’s head. “I can’t help it,” Jaemin whines in that obnoxious tone he does. “I wanted to see you so bad.”

“And you could have done that _discreetly._” Jeno presses, trying to hide his smile against Jaemin’s shirt when he hears him whine a second time.

“Well, I also wanted to show off, okay? There.”

“Figures.” Time time, Jeno couldn't contain his laughter. “Can we go now?”

In the safety of Jaemin’s tinted windows, Jeno can freely bask at his boyfriend’s affectionate antics. Inside the car, Jeno doesn’t have to shy away from the kisses and hugs and the petnames. If Jeno were to be more honest with himself, he can’t find himself annoyed for too long really, not when everytime they meet, Jaemin is so happy to see him like this. And Jeno is just as happy, it's just that preferably, he'd like to express his elation without the entire student body there to watch him do it.

Jeno does end up resting for the rest of the night like he'd wanted—just him and his mountain of pillows and Jaemin being his big spoon.

Come Monday, Jeno isn’t awake enough to be bombarded with people asking him who the mysterious man that picked him up that day was. Was he a celebrity? Maybe some famous popstar from another country? Or a rich, up and coming CEO who's just invested in his first start-up? But more importantly, why and when did Jeno even get a boyfriend in the first place?

They were right about one thing: Oh, Jaemin was famous all right, Jeno snorts.

Too bad that pretty face of his is most well known amongst the worst people in Seoul.

\--

**2.**

**Jaemin // 4:30PM  
** AAAAAH  
good luck today, i know you’ll do amazing jeno (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ♡  
i can’t wait to see you dance, finally  
(✧ω✧)!

  
**Jaemin // 6:07PM  
** ugh, we’re running a bit late. got held back bc of work, god, i dont have time for this.  
don’t worry though, i promise we’ll be there when it’s your turn!  
  
I PROMISE

  
**Jaemin // 8:22PM  
** we’re on our way  
(ง ื▿ ื)ว♡

“Is Jaemin-hyung going to come watch us?”

Jeno looks up from his phone to find Chenle’s chin perched on his shoulder, smiling widely at him.

“Yeah. He’s going to be a little late though.” Jeno replies.

“Do you think Jaemin-hyung would let me drive his Bugatti if I asked nicely?” Comes Jisung’s innocent sounding question.

Jeno turns to him with a raise of a brow.

“You can’t drive.” He and Chenle say at the same time.

“Well,” Jisung huffs. “Will he teach me how to drive using his Bugatti then?”

Jeno rolls his eyes, checking his outfit one more time before gesturing for the two boys to stand. “Let’s just go. We’re up soon.” 

Jisung pouts, but gets up from the bean bag he’s been rotting on in the dressing room anyway.

Jaemin would probably give Jisung anything if he asked, Jeno thinks. His boyfriend has practically claimed the kid as his own, Chenle included, but Jeno wouldn’t tell him that. The pouts he gets are entertaining as they are cute, and Jisung refuses to be cute until he wants something, so Jeno tends to take advantage of it as much whenever he has the chance to do so.

They reach the waiting area for the performers, and Jeno lets out a shaky breath. God, this is it. Jeno’s been waiting for this since the semester began. 

Between his IT classes and his part-time job waiting tables at the cafe near campus, Jeno hasn’t really caught a break.

When his other coursemates heard of him joining the university dance troupe on top of everything he was already doing, they called him insane. Jeno thought he was too, really, believe him, but dance—it’s Jeno’s escape. Through dance he gets to let his frustrations out, be free from all the shit and responsibilities stacked one after the other, be himself, even for just a couple of hours.

There’s a dance showcase held at every end of the school year and him, Chenle and Jisung had been practicing for it ever since. Jaemin was even more excited about the showcase more than him, having wanted to see him dance in forever but not having the chance to do so. So when Jeno told him about the showcase he’d been anticipating ever since, Jaemin said he would come even before Jeno could ask him.

“Nervous?” Chenle asks beside him. Jeno nods.

“A little bit. Jaemin’s going to be watching. It’s my first time dancing in front of him.”

“Then, we’ll make sure to show him a good show!”

As soon as they entered the stage, Jeno immediately hears the begrudgingly familiar screeching of his boyfriend shouting his name.

Jeno cringes as he moves into position. He should’ve expected these things from Jaemin by now, really.

From his peripheral he could see Jaemin smiling from ear to ear, hands cupped in front of his mouth like a megaphone. Jeno could also see Renjun, Donghyuck and Mark hiding their face with their hands, not wanting to be associated with their embarrassing boss.

“JENO!!! JENO! J-E-N-O! LEE JENO!”

Jisung and Chenle both give Jeno shit-eating grins from where they were crouched. They were two of the few people who have witnessed first hand how ridiculous Jaemin can get, and Jeno just purses his lips at them, refusing to let the embarrassment show on his face despite how visibly red his ear are.

The lights dim and the bass booms from the giant speakers of the auditorium, and before he knows it, Jeno’s lost in the music. He knows their routine by heart, having run through it a million times, over and over again, and he shows the crowd just that.

All eyes were on them, and Jeno, despite the pressure, has fun with it, wanting the crowd to follow their every flick of the wrist, ever snap of their hips.

Jeno does the spin he’s been practicing for weeks perfectly, and Jaemin stands excitedly, shouting his name in a flurry until Renjun pulls him back down to his seat with a harsh tug.

Jeno basks in the applause, hardwork having paid off as he, Jisung and Chenle hold hands to bow in front of the standing crowd.

“You did great, baby.” Jaemin coos immediately after the show. Jeno didn’t know how he hid them, but Jaemin holds up a large bouquet of daisies for him to take and Jeno flushes as he cradles them in one arm gingerly.

“Yeah, you three were amazing up there.” Mark says with grin, bringing Jeno in for a friendly hug. Donghyuck and Renjun hum in agreement beside him.

“Thanks guys.” Jeno smiles at them, pointedly ignoring his pouting boyfriend who has his arms crossed at him.

“Where’s my thanks?” Jaemin huffs, and the whine was clear in his voice.

Renjun and Mark shake their heads.

“We’ll be heading first.” Donghyuck says with a wave. “Good luck dealing with him, Jeno.”

“Hey!”

Jeno laughs, watching Jaemin blurt out pointless threats at Renjun, Donghyuck and Mark’s retreating backs. He snakes a free arm around Jaemin’s waist, and it catches his boyfriend’s attention immediately. Jaemin looks back at Jeno, lips still pursed, brows still furrowed stubbornly.

“Thank you for coming, Jaemin.” Jeno says softly, and he watches Jaemin's face break into a smile.

“I wouldn’t have missed it.” Jaemin says just as soft. He pulls Jeno closer, laughing when Jeno whines about the daisies being crushed between them. “Almost did, but I made it in time for your performance anyway, huh?”

Jeno shakes his head. “Still, I was pretty nervous knowing you were watching. I hope I did good.”

“You were amazing.” Jaemin assures, and he leans in to press a chaste kiss at Jeno’s temple. “My little dancer, I’m so proud of you, you know?”

Jisung doesn’t gets his wish to drive Jaemin’s Bugatti, but Jaemin lets him and Chenle ride at the back of his car anyway, offering to drive them home after the showcase. Jeno could only lets out a snicker as the kids run to Jaemin's car excitedly the moment Jaemin clicked his car keys.

\--

**3.**

“You should have told me you didn’t want to go in!”

“Does it even matter now!? Let’s just get out of—AHH!”

Jaemin screams as hands suddenly reach out, trying to grab them from the walls. He hides his face against Jeno’s shoulder blade, shaking.

“Jeno,” He sniffs, wrapping his arms around his waist tightly. “I wanna go home.”

Jeno sighs, squeezing at Jaemin’s trembling hands that were gripping at his shirt. “I’m trying,” He says.

It’s not like Jeno wanted to stay in the haunted house all afternoon, he thought it would just be funny to see how far Jaemin would claim his bluff about protecting him from the ‘ghosts’ in the small facility, but one little sound at the start of their journey inside had the mobster already jumping and clinging towards Jeno like a lifeline.

The day actually started quite happy for them contrary to whatever is happening now. They were excited to finally be able to visit the amusement park Jeno’s been raving about since they started seeing each other. They got on all the rides, from the heart-stopping rollercoasters, to the calm spin of the ferris wheel. And when they weren't up for any they enjoyed their time walking around the park attractions and browsing through the souvenir shops.

They were contemplating what snacks to get after lunch when Jeno had pointed at the haunted house across the street as a joke, but then Jaemin had puffed his chest, saying he’d comes out of there like it was nothing, and Jeno just couldn't resist teasing him.

Well, he definitely didn't expect the screaming into his ear.

“W-Wait! Why are you going further in?! We have to get out of here!”

“This is the only way out, Jaem.” Jeno says. “Just trust me, okay?”

There's a curtain shielding them from the next room’s view, and they've been staring at it for a good minute. Jaemin refuses to move from the post he’s found himself latching on for safety, leaving Jeno to go up first and check if it was smooth sailing from there on.

“Hurry, hurry,” Jaemin whines.

Jeno just purses his lips. It’s not like he wasn’t scared either, in fact he was fucking terrified. It’s just that Jaemin is just far worse than him when it came to things like this, and someone has to be the braver one here if they didn’t want to be stuck in this hell hole forever. With a shaky breath, Jeno pulls the curtains aside, the quiet eerie and unnerving as he takes careful steps forward. God, he doesn’t feel so good.

Before Jeno could turn to check on Jaemin, a loud bagging causes him to jump back. His foot catches onto a pipe, and he stumbles to the floor, ass hitting the cement. Jeno doesn’t have a chance to recover when suddenly four ghouls lung at him the moment he lifts his head up.

“Shit! Shit! SHIT!” Jeno screams in panic, holding his arms up to protect himself from the attack.

“JENO!” Jeno hears Jaemin call for him, but it's the crash that comes after that has Jeno opening his eyes.

“Jaem—what—” Jeno opens his eyes to Jaemin aggressively pushing at the ghosts surrounding him. A little too aggressively.

The forceful impact has them stumbling back and accidentally hitting everything within their reach. The dim lighting did them no favors either—crates are crushed under the weight of the poor employees falling into them accidentally, curtains pulled off their rods in an attempt to steady themselves up, and they all end up falling into a mess of limbs in the middle of the room.

Jeno’s mouth hangs open watching everything unfold in front of his very eyes. He only flinches back to reality when the lights suddenly turn on and the other staff rush in to check on the injured employees.

Jeno rushes to them too finally finding the strength to stand, and he asks if they were okay, only to be pushed aside, the staff sounding annoyed and terrified. Jeno turns to Jaemin who was standing there at a corner cringing, ears red in embarrassment, avoiding his eye.

“Jaemin...”

They’re kicked out of the haunted house with Jeno profusely apologizing to the staff, a quiet Jaemin beside him who Jeno can clearly see doesn't really care they're being kicked out. Jaemin is just glad they finally got out of there, out until—well, forever.

**we are, swing kids! (3)  
**

**Jisung // 1:02AM  
**[IMG_7289.jpg]

  
**Jisung // 1:02AM  
**hyung why are you banned from the haunted house lmao

  
**Chenle // 1:02AM  
**WHAT?

  
**Chenle // 1:03AM  
**ARE U SERIOUS

  
**Jeno // 1:03AM  
**...

  
**Jeno // 1:04AM  
**it’s a long story

\--

**4.**

One thing Jeno was surprised to learn about is that Jaemin’s actually a great cook.

It was one summer morning he’ll never forget—waking up to the sight of Jaemin cooking him pancakes, beautifully golden brown and thick at that. When Jeno padded his way to him to ask if he actually knew how the kitchen works, the look on Jaemin’s face was priceless. 

“It’s just something I didn’t think some mafia man would enjoy.” Jeno grins.

He’s never seen Jaemin cook in the four months they’ve been seeing each other. Jaemin is always out early in the morning and comes home late at night and Jeno’s too tired from school work to even stay awake and wait for him, always knocking out from his walks to his dorm.

Sometimes Jaemin has Donghyuck pick him up, but whenever Jeno’s over at Jaemin's apartment, someone is usually cooking for the lucky bastard anyway.

_Rich people,_ Jeno had scoffed once, before lifting up his (Jaemin’s) delicate china to sip at his (Jaemin’s) Silver Needle tea.

Their schedules never aligned until now. Jeno has summer break and no part time job to eat his free time up anymore, so he’s been lounging around Jaemin’s huge apartment, leaving his stuffy dorm to rot until he has to go back to university. Jaemin has been having less stressful days too, seeming as he’s coming home earlier and actually stays in the mornings when Jeno wakes up. 

(Renjun had snitched one day and told Jeno that Jaemin’s been adjusting his schedule because he wanted to spend more time with him now that he was on break. 

“That means more dirty work for us.” Renjun had grumbled.

Jeno had given Jaemin the biggest smooch when the older got home.)

Jaemin huffs, placing the plate of pancakes he just made in front of Jeno. Jeno stares at the pink apron he’s wearing. ‘Kiss the Cook’ it said in cursive font. Typical.

“Do you think I spend my days sharpening knives and polishing my gun or something?”

Jeno raises a brow at him. “Well, do you?”

“No!” Jaemin whines, grabbing the syrup bottle and drizzling an (un)healthy amount on his stack. Jeno barely holds his cringe. “I have Renjun to do that for me.”

Jeno snorts. “Of course.”

Too much free time has Jeno itching to try new hobbies, and of course, he has to drag his boyfriend down with him in the process, so Jeno thought he would surprise Jaemin by signing them up for a baking class.

Jaemin was excited—a little too excited for Jeno’s liking.

“Jaem, this isn't a competition!” Jeno hisses. He tries to take the whisk away from Jaemin but the older just keeps beating the mixture in an aggressive fashion that is very Jaemin.

“Oh, yeah? Tell that to Yeri from Table Three who’s been giving me the stink eye since we got here!”

Yeri from Table Three, Jeno finds, isn’t even looking at their direction, but everyone else in the classroom is. Embarrassed, Jeno bows his head in apology, their weird stares making his ears and neck red.

“Please don’t mind him.” Jeno mouths at everyone with a wave of his hands.

The class objective was simple: read the pamphlet with the recipe given to you, wash your hands, mix the ingredients, bake the cake, decorate. It was supposed to be a fun, harmless, relaxing activity Jeno thought they’d do together, but of course, Jeno thought wrong.

The moment their oven let out its telltale _ding!_ Jaemin quickly got their cake out, giving Jeno a mini heart attack watching the older do it with no mittens on.

(Jaemin’s pain tolerance was alarmingly high Jeno finds out from Mark, but he doesn’t ask how they got to test that out. He’d rather not know.)

Jeno was looking forward to decorating their cake and he’s glad Jaemin actually takes time to ice it carefully. Jeno delights in the few minutes of peace he gets before it’s inevitably taken away by Jaemin’s competitiveness. So he sprinkles whatever topping he could get his hands on before Jaemin decides it was enough.

Jeno puts his bag of icing down with a sigh, watching as Jaemin place their cake quickly and rushes to the teacher at the front. Jeno follows behind slowly, cupping his warming ears from all the eyes in the room.

There wasn't any competition going on really, but Jaemin’s sweet and insistent “We’re first, right?”, winning smile and all, has the teacher sending a small (sympathetic) simper at Jeno’s pleading look before grabbing a bag of icing and halfheartedly drawing a 1st place badge on their cake to appease Jaemin.

Jaemin cheers, and of course, sticks his tongue out at his now sworn enemy, Yeri from Table Three. (Who doesn’t even bat an eyelash at Jaemin’s ‘taunt’, nor was looking at him at all. Ever.) 

“Well, at least the cake turned out good,” Jeno sighs as they walk out of the classroom.

Was it worth all the shit he had to go through making it? Looking at Jaemin’s triumphant smile as he carries their cake box like it was the most precious thing in the world, Jeno finds himself smiling.

Maybe.

\--

**5.**

It’s not rare for Jeno to get invited to some random college house party every now and then. What was rare however, and a rather weird request, was that Jeno bring his ‘celebrity’ boyfriend with him to said party.

Jeno rolls his eyes at the message and the disgusting winking emoji accompanying it before replying that he’ll ask.

Of course, Jaemin says he’ll comes with. If the excited gleam in his eyes weren’t such an obvious indication enough, Jaemin immediately shedding his work clothes as he comes home just solidified the fact that yes, he was going to that party with Jeno.

Jaemin isn’t that much older than him, but he didn't really go to school like the typical teenager either. He’s been in training all his life, and all he had was his mob boss of a dad, and the other trainees to spend the rest of his young life with. Jaemin never really gotten to do the dumb shit he's always wanted to.

“What do you think, Jeno?”

Jeno looks up from his phone to see Jaemin emerging from the bathroom and blinks. 

Jaemin looks great in casual clothes, Jeno thinks. He usually has his hair pushed back and slick, always in pressed shirts, dress pants and dress shoes and all, always looking smart and sharp. But tonight? It’s just Jaemin in a tight black shirt and a faded denim jacket, ripped jeans and classic Vans. 

“You look good.” Jeno says simply. He looks hot, but Jeno’s not going to say that aloud.

“Is my hair okay? Not too messy? I can't be bothered.” Jaemin fidgets with Jeno’s old snap back before putting it on backwards.

Jeno stands from his bed, lips pursed. Jaemin’s blonde hair has been getting long at the back and Jeno always finds himself gravitating towards Jaemin and running his hands absently at the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry, babe. You’ll fit right in with the sleep deprived crowd.” Jeno teases.

Jaemin snorts. “This used to be my crowd actually,”

“I finally get to see it, huh?” Jeno grins.

Jaemin’s told him in passing how he tried to sneak into parties just like this one when he was eighteen, a moment of rebellion when he wanted to stray away from his family’s complicated lifestyle and live life like a normal teenager would. It didn’t last, he got caught by his dad’s men whom, in Jaemin’s drunken state, never noticed were tailing him since the first night he snuck out.

The moment they walked in the house, a crowd instantly forms, everyone curious about who the fuck Jeno’s boyfriend really was. And of course, Jaemin manages to charm them all with little to no effort, his smile inviting and his voice a deep drawl that draws anyone in.

Jeno gets lost in the sea of people wanting a piece of Na Jaemin. He can’t really blame them, he was of similar state when he first saw him, but it’s kind of annoying how they’ve stolen his only safety net from this hell of a party away from him. But Jeno let's him be, seeing how happy he is to be surrounded by people that weren't out to get him for once.

Predictably, Jaemin gets fucking smashed.

Jeno steps away for one second to get a bottle of water in the kitchen and all hell breaks loose. He startles at the loud cheers coming from upstairs, the bass practically booming in his ears. Jeno just sensed trouble, and a lot of it, and just knew it’s name started with Na, and ended with fucking Jaemin.

Jeno's right—he always is, and there his boyfriend is, dancing drunkenly on top of the pool table, long limbs all over the place. The crowd is doing nothing to appease the situation, instead egging the drunk mobster on in his ridiculous antics.

“JAEMIN! JAEMIN! JAEMIN! JAEMIN!”

“NA JAEMIN!” Jeno counters with his own loud roar, squeezing himself into the crowd. “Get down from the fucking table, you idiot!”

“_Jen,_” Jaemin practically whines when Jeno successfully pulls him down from the table. The people boo at Jeno, calling him all sorts of insults, _boring_ and _kill joy_ being the few of the many, but Jeno could really care less at the moment.

“I missed you, baby,” Jaemin giggles into Jeno’s neck, arms around Jeno’s small waist. “Where’d you go, hm?”

“Well, I'll tell you where we're going to go—we’re going home. You’re super drunk.”

Jaemin was swaying with each step they took, and one look at him has Jeno thinking he made the right decision to stay sober that night. He manages to drag his boyfriend outside by the pool until Jaemin starts making a fuss again, squirming in his hold.

“Wait!” Jaemin whines. Jeno would keep walking if it weren’t for Jaemin's iron grip around him, of all times to use his strength. Jeno sighs in defeat.

“What?”

“Kiss me?” Jaemin hiccups.

“When you’re sober, Jaem.”

“_Please,_” Jaemin nuzzles his face into Jeno’s sensitive neck. Jeno bites at his lip not to shiver. “Just a little bit?”

Jeno lets out his nth sigh of the night, lighting pressing his lips against Jaemin’s warm cheek. “Happy?”

“Not there!”

“_Fine,_” Jeno grits, finally pressing their lips together into a rough kiss. 

Jeno pours every last of his frustration into his kiss, the aggressiveness only making Jaemin moan into his mouth, fingers pressing at Jeno's sides. Jaemin pulls him closer, _closer_, moving them backwards to god knows where and Jeno follows like a moth to a flame, the taste of gin on Jaemin's tongue addicting.

But Jaemin takes a step back too many, and before Jeno could react—

—he’s falling into the fucking pool. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

The screech Jeno lets out isn’t something he’s proud of. He glares at Jaemin who emerges from the water, giggling his fucking ass off.

“You fucker, I hope you’re happy!”

Jeno climbs out of the pool, a whining Jaemin in tow, and frantically pulls out his phone from his pants pocket before it inevitably dies on him. He dials Donghyuck’s number, knowing the night owl was awake at this hour and asks him to pick them up, ignoring Jaemin’s whines about how _c-cold and wet he is_.

The laughing fit Donghyuck has before he could get them into the car and drive home was ridiculous. He should be thankful Jaemin isn’t in the right mind to snap at him right now, Jeno thinks, as he hurls said mindless boyfriend into the back seat.

  
Of course, when Jeno thought no one saw, their pool falling fiasco is all over the fucking internet the next morning. From his Twitter feed, to the concerned Facebook messages he got from distant relatives, Jeno had no escape to turn to.

So Jeno shuts off his phone, the thought of switching schools on his mind as he falls back into bed beside a hungover Na Jaemin, who is still quite dead to the world.

\--

**+1**

Don’t get him wrong, Jeno wasn’t thrilled about getting kidnapped in the slightest. God, no. But in hindsight? It was kind of time he did.

Jeno’s been haunted by the thought of getting kidnapped ever since Jaemin was asking him if he was sure he wanted to be involved with a mobster in the first place. (Jeno had clung to him, teary eyed yet determined and Jaemin didn’t want to let go either.)

And honestly, Jeno shouldn’t be surprised. This is probably karma from all the times he’d been frustrated at Jaemin and the embarrassment he carried around with him. (Not that he didn't find those time any less amusing, but he'll never say that out loud.)

It was a rookie mistake too: Getting too close to the unassuming white van at the back of the university gates? Good work there, Jeno.

In his defense, he was exhausted from class enlistment now that university was starting up again soon. Jeno was too busy worrying about what units to take than to check his surroundings, so here he was, bound to some rattly old chair, terrified yet annoyed as fuck.

And yeah, Jeno is scared. Who wouldn’t be peachy about being tied up to a chair? Let alone stuck in an abandoned building nobody dares to come close to? Very cliche if you asked him, but Jeno isn’t any less terrified that this was actually happening to him. One would think this would only happen in movies, but this was very much real, Jeno is actually being held hostage right now. Holy fuck.

“Yeah, I got the kid! Na’s plaything.”

Jeno rolls his eyes hearing his captor. He almost sounds excited, like this was his first day on the job. That would be kind of cute, but Jeno’s stomach is growling and he could have been basking in the last few days of his break in his bed right now. But no, instead he’s fucking stuck here.

Jeno sometimes wonder if Jaemin can read his mind at times, one of those times being right now because the door is busting open before his very eyes, making him jump in his seat. And in comes Jaemin, nonchalant as ever, a bored looking Renjun in tow with his hands at the back of his head.

(“Mind reading or he has some sort of chip on you,” Renjun darkly jokes when they got out of the abandoned building soundly. Jeno glared at Jaemin then, who looked like he was actually contemplating the idea.)

“Hey, babe.” Jaemin smirks, and Jeno's shoulders slump in relief.

“Y-You’d stay back if you want him alive!”

Jeno’s captor drops his phone at the sight of Jaemin, hands fumbling with a switch knife he retrieves from his back pocket. He stands in front of Jaemin then, body trembling. Jeno watches as Jaemin doesn’t even spare the man a glance, how Jaemin keeps on walking to where Jeno is until Jeno’s captor scurries to stand in his way again. That has Jaemin’s brow twitching.

“Move.”

Jaemin easily grips at his neck, lifting the man up as the man chokes, hands coming up to pry Jaemin's off of him. He falls as Jaemin throws him easily to the ground, head hitting the concrete, and Jeno looks away as Renjun pads his way over, disturbingly relaxed as he kicks the fallen man square on the face.

Jaemin picks up the man's switch knife, twirling it in his hand before squatting in front of Jeno. Jaemin lips lift in a small, reassuring smile. “Is the rope uncomfortable, Jen?”

“A little bit.” Jeno mumbles, and he finds it ridiculous the way his ears warm. This is isn't the right time for this, goddammit.

Jaemin does quick work of cutting the rope, rubbing at Jeno’s wrists when he’s set free. “I really let an amateur steal you away from me, huh? Sorry, Jen.”

Jeno shakes his head. “It’s my fau—”

Jeno doesn’t get his sentence out before a hard blow hits him from the back of his head, and Jeno’s face skids across the rough cement floor, glasses flying off his face.

His captor had an accomplice in the shadows, Jeno realizes belatedly, must've been the one he was talking to on the phone. Jeno attempts to lift himself up, arms shaking. In his dizziness, Jeno faintly hears Renjun roaring at his captor’s face, boot still digging into his face, taunting the trembling man about calling backup.

An ear-piercing wail has Jeno flinching in fright, and he turns to find Jaemin’s eyes flashing red, the knife he had earlier now lodged into the the other intruder’s throat.

Jeno trembles in place. It's incredibly chilling to be reminded of how terrifying Jaemin actually is—how unrecognizable his angry eyes and angry snarls are, how violent Jaemin can get when he’s provoked for a reaction, especially when Jeno’s involved. Jeno’s captor’s face is disturbingly askew when Jaemin’s done with him, and Jeno hates the way his heart stutters when Jaemin makes his way back to him, bloody, panting and sweaty.

There’s blood on Jaemin's knuckles when he kneels and cups Jeno’s face in his hands. There’s a nasty gash on Jeno’s cheek from the attack either, the cement skidding has his skin peeling and red. Jeno flinches when Jaemin runs a delicate finger over his cheek.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Jaemin asks in a low tone. Jeno shivers, he hates himself for finding this Jaemin kind of fucking hot. What the fuck. 

Jeno doesn't answer. Instead, he pushes Jaemin back until he’s lying on the dusty concrete, pressing their lips together in a hard kiss.

Jaemin is bewildered at the sudden aggression, blinking for a second before he’s returning the kiss with equal fervor. Jeno whines when Jaemin sucks on his tongue the way he always does, and god did it never fail to make Jeno's gut twist in want.

They pull away to breathe, and Jeno sits up on the older’s thighs. “That was hot.” He squeaks.

“Oh?” The corners of Jaemin’s lip lift in amusement as Jeno licks at his lips, hair a mess and eyes glassy.

“I sometimes forget you can go ape shit hot like that.”

Jaemin suddenly pouts. “Hey! I can be hot!” He reasons, and just like that, Jeno finds himself laughing. God, he’s adorable.

“Sure,” Jeno singsongs teasingly. He moves to stand, holding a hand out for Jaemin to get up too. Jaemin’s pout only gets increasingly guilt-trippy as he dusts of the dirt off his dress pants, but Jeno only laughs, even reaching up to fix Jaemin’s hair, tucking a tuff behind his ear. There's a soft smile easing its way back onto Jaemin's lips that Jeno couldn't help but return, and he moves to press himself against Jaemin, sighing happily when Jaemin's arms wrap around him instantly.

“Thank you for saving me.” Jeno hums against Jaemin’s chest.

Jaemin pulls him in closer, melting against Jeno. “You’re welcome, baby.”

“I’m tired now, let’s go home.”

“Let’s.” Jaemin chuckles, and Jeno feels the way his boyfriend’s laugh rubbles against his chest. 

  
\--

The duality of Na Jaemin the Mobster, and his Boyfriend Na Jaemin is overwhelming to say the least. They are two entirely different extremes that you wouldn't think would be on the opposite sides of the same coin, but Jeno guesses the mafia man facade gets incredibly tiring after a while too.

Jaemin didn't need to keep it up for Jeno to like him anyway. Jeno likes Na Jaemin just the way he is—smiley, ridiculous, and kind, embarrassment and all. Besides, it’s an endearing kind of embarrassing that he'll never get tired of, despite how many times he want to bury himself into the ground sometimes.

Except maybe when it’s all over social media for everyone to see.

“I know someone who can delete the file from the internet permanently if you really want it gone.”

“...Do I even want to know how you know someone like that?”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, and happy birthday jaemin!  
  
this is my first time writing for jaemjen and for nct in general. i’m still tinkering re: their characterizations orz but i hope i did okay!! sorry for any mistakes!
> 
> let’s be friends ^u^  
[twt](https://twitter.com/pvtwon) [cc](https://curiouscat.me/e_girls)


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